Unit 1 Quiz 2 Ap psych

Hypothesis

A prediction to the outcome of the study

Independent variable

variable controlled by researcher

dependent variable

observed and measured by researcher

operational definition

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. ( needs to be specific and measurable

Population

all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

random sample

every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

random assignment

randomly sorting participants into two groups

experimental group

the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested

control group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

cofounding variable

in an experiment, a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect

illusory correlation

perception of a relationship where none exists, or perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists

Null hypothesis

Generally accepted belief you try to disprove

Expectation effects

Any changes in an experiment's results due to the subject anticipating certain outcomes to the experiment

Hawthorne Effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

researcher bias

researcher consciously or unconsciously behaves so as to make research outcome fit with their expectation

placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

blind procedures

participants are uninformed about what treatment, if any, they are receiving

double blind procedures

neither the participants nor the researchers know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group

survey

a data collection tool used to gather information about individuals

naturalistic

people are in normal environment and know they are not being watched

case study

gives in depth info about 1 person or small group

correlational study

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

longitudinal study

a study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time

cross sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time (similar to longitudinal study but happens all at once)

meta-analysis

a "study of studies" that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion

correlation coefficient

a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

measures of central tendency

mean, median, mode

statistically significant

refers to a result that is statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance

t-test

a statistical test used to evaluate the size and significance of the difference between two means

p-value

The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score